Konica Minolta partners with AIA group for digital health accelerator

Konica Minolta (TYO:4902) said today it partnered with pan-Asian life insurance group AIA Group Ltd. to launch a digital health accelerator in Singapore.

The 12-week AIA – Konica Minolta Digital Health Accelerator aims to support entrepreneurs and businesses that deliver solutions through integrating data into healthcare delivery, the companies said.

“Konica Minolta has long embraced Open Innovation, and combined our expertise to create cutting-edge medical field products for more than 30 years now. Since 2014 we have opened 5 Business Innovation Centres across the world to work with customers, start-ups, research institutions and crowdsourcing channels. This accelerator program is another Open Innovation step to reach out to promising start-ups and Konica Minolta will make available R&D assets, and go-to-market channels to accelerate their entry into the Digital Health space,” Konica Minolta CEO Yuji Ichimura said in a press release.

The companies said that Singapore’s government expects to double its expenditure on healthcare from the $2.8 billion (SG $4 billion) spent in 2011 to $5.6 billion (SG $8 billion) in 2015.

The accelerator program will be run by a 3rd party investment incubator named Nest, and hopes to support the Singapore government’s push to adopt information communication technologies to develop integrated healthcare delivery systems for the country, the companies said.

“This launch is another extension of AIA’s belief in the power of Collaborative Innovation to help manage healthcare costs in Singapore and create value for families here. The protection gap in Singapore is estimated to be US$305 billion, and healthcare spending is expected to increase with government health spending expected to increase to SG$12 billion annually by 2020. Digital health can play a meaningful role in addressing both these issues as we seek to ensure the well-being of families in Singapore,” AIA Singapore CEO Patrick Teow said in prepared remarks.

Last month, Konica Minolta said it acquired digital hardware and software imaging developer Viztek for an undisclosed amount.

Viztek recently introduced its Exa platform for PACS, RIS and EHR systems that allows radiologists and physicians to access images and information remotely, the company said.

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